Russians should have porridge for breakfast and eat borscht (beetroot soup) on a regular basis to keep alive their culinary traditions as well as improving their health.

a man should be able to eat healthily on around 2,800 roubles ($80 dollars) a month

There are contrasting approaches to population health in the news this week. Russian officials have more or less ordered Russians to change their diets – the Federal Consumer Protection Service claims Russian adults now weigh two kilos more than they did a decade ago, while children are a kilo heavier. Now that the recession is likely to drive Russians back to cheaper calorie-rich but nutrient-poor foodstuffs such as bread and potatoes, there is a fear that this weight gain, which began in the boom years, will accelerate in the bust ones.

So the report, whose title more or less translates as Healthy Nutrition on the Cheap, contains guidelines to help Russians stay slim and healthy. They are being encouraged to reduce their consumption of fizzy drinks and have milk instead, especially kefir, the sour milk that used to be drunk to promote good sleep, and healthy hair! In addition, Russians should have porridge for breakfast and eat borscht (beetroot soup) on a regular basis to keep alive their culinary traditions as well as improving their health.

The head of the service warned that ‘When it comes to obesity, Russian women are among the leaders in European countries’ and also gave guidelines on food spending – saying that a man should be able to eat healthily on around 2,800 roubles ($80 dollars) a month, while a woman could manage perfectly well on 2,400 roubles, about $70.